Features

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Eliza Carthy's News of the Whirl (April 2024)

Eliza contemplates what is gained, lost and remains the same as the UK looks to ratify its culture through UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Catrin Finch and Aoife Ní Bhriain: “The most important thing is hopefully people will love the music”

Welsh harpist Catrin Finch is embarking on a new partnership, this time exploring her Celtic and classical roots with Irish fiddle player Aoife Ní Bhriain

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

The Mary Wallopers: Dundalk and disorderly

Annoying RTÉ, dissing the rich and staying true to Dundalk: Charles Hendy tells Emma Rycroft about The Mary Wallopers’ rise to the top. “Throughout my enjoyment of music, I’ve liked stuff that was probably done wrong,” he confides

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Morocco's female Gnawa ambassador Asmâa Hamzaoui

Jo Frost speaks to trailblazing Moroccan musician Asmâa Hamzaoui and her sister Aicha about Gnawa traditions that have been passed down through generations, and the need for women to express themselves in their culture

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Soema Montenegro: “My music can’t be pinpointed or catalogued, I’m very experimental”

Soema Montenegro tells Silvia Rothlisberger about the ancestral connections and magical realism influencing her new album. “I’m not transmitting musical notes, but sensations,” she explains

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Mamadou Diabaté: master of the balafon

The West African xylophone is steeped in the mythology of the Mali Empire. Simon Broughton meets balafon player Mamadou Diabaté, who is helping to keep the instrument’s 800-year history alive

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Balimaya Project: “We’ve come so far in a short space of time”

Balimaya Project’s latest album finds the group united, vulnerable and ready to take on the world. Erin Cobby speaks to bandleader Yahael Camara Onono about their evolution and the need to appreciate heritage

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Ana Tijoux interview: “If I didn’t smile, I’d sink”

Charis McGowan finds Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux in a reflective mood as she talks about her much-awaited new album. “I wanted to create something more complete, take time to write a different type of album,” she confides

Thursday, February 29, 2024

The Best New Albums from Around the World (April 2024)

Here are our Top of the World – the best new albums reviewed in the April 2024 issue of Songlines, featuring Aziza Brahim, Abdul & The Gang, LINA_ and more...

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Zakaria Ibrahim (1952-2024)

Founder of Egyptian band El Tanbura, champion of the simsimiyya and an important icon of the Egyptian revolution, Zakaria Ibrahim has passed away

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Preview: Voices from the East at London's Southbank Centre (Advertorial)

Words by Simon Broughton; Photos by John Millar and Mark Allan

Thursday, February 22, 2024

Brìghde Chaimbeul's ambitious smallpipes-playing incorporates big drones, Gaelic song and the language of birds

Smallpipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul grew up on the Isle of Skye, speaking Gaelic and steeped in the island's culture, tunes and stories.

Thursday, February 22, 2024

The Story Behind Songlines

The first-ever Songlines hit the shelves in early 1999, its genesis stemmed from a complaint about what constitutes ‘world music’. Here, current editor Russ Slater Johnson speaks to founding editor Simon Broughton about the magazine’s beginnings

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Rhiannon Giddens: A Beginner's Guide

“I never want anything I do to feel like it’s a lecture.” Nigel Williamson guides us through the prolific and pioneering career of one of America’s finest